Alexander Temerko

Alexander Temerko is a USSR-born British businessman in the energy sector, currently a director of the UK company Aquind Limited, which is responsible for building a power link between the UK and France.[1] Previously, he was director and Deputy Chairman of the UK-based company OGN Group.[2] When in Russia, he held senior posts in the Russian Defence Ministry in the 1990s and, from 1999, was a senior executive and director at the Russian oil and gas company Yukos. He has resided in the UK since 2004.[3] He became a UK citizen in 2011.[4] He is a member and a senior political activist of, as well as a major donor (donating more than £1.3 million) to,[5] the UK Conservative Party.[4][6] He is also a member of the advisory council of the Institute of Economic Affairs.[7] In November 2019 he called for the publication of a report on Russian influence in British politics; the report had been suppressed by Boris Johnson. In connection with the report, Temerko has denied he is a Kremlin agent.[8]

Alexander Temerko

Biography

Alexander Viktorovich Temerko was born in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union) on 9 September 1966.[9]

In 1987, he graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Moscow Institute of Electronic Machine Building. He also graduated from the Institute of Public Administration in 1999.[10] He began his career in the field of environmental science, initially as the chief engineer of capital construction at the State Committee of the USSR on Environmental Protection, and then as director of the Department of Environmental Protection under the Ministry of Forestry.[11].

During the events preceding the dissolution of the USSR, Temerko became a prominent figure in the team of Boris Yeltsin.

From early 1992, he held a series of positions in Russian state agencies under the Defence Ministry in charge of supplies and armaments.[3]

From 1999, he held executive positions in the Russian oil company Yukos. In 2003, upon the arrest of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Temerko became the company′s vice president. He was in charge of interaction with state bodies. He resigned from the post on 15 March 2005.[12][13]

Temerko also served as a Director and Vice Chairman of the Newcastle-based OGN Group, a provider of engineering and construction services in offshore oil and gas and renewable energy companies.[14] Among its clients were Apache, EnQuest, ConocoPhillips and others. The company management publicly called the UK government to support British supply chain in the oil and gas and renewable developments.[15][16]

In 2016, Temerko was appointed as a director at Aquind, which is responsible for a $1.4 billion power link between France and the UK,[17][18] with power equivalent to 5% or 3% of British and French consumption respectively.[19]

Flight to London, criminal prosecution and extradition case
See also: Yukos

Temerko fled to London shortly after he was examined by criminal investigators in October 2004.[20] In May 2005, Russian prosecutors charged Temerko with having stolen shares in the oil company Yeniseineftegaz, forgery, and perverting the course of justice.[21]

Russia′s bid to have Temerko extradited from the UK failed as Judge Timothy Workman in December 2005 ruled: "I have come to the conclusion that the motivation for the charges against Mr Temerko are inextricably entwined with the motivation for the prosecution of Mr Khodorkovsky. I therefore find that the prosecution of Mr Temerko is politically motivated and the request for his extradition is made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing him on account of his political opinions."[20]

Temerko himself alleged that the motivation of the Russian state′s assault on Yukos was president Vladimir Putin's desire to silence those who challenged him politically.[22] The ruling on his extradition case was in line with a dozen other similar cases of former Yukos employees who absconded to the UK.[20]

Views and political activism in the UK

Temerko’s views on Russia′s economy and the Yukos affair were cited by the Financial Times in the late 2000s.[23][24] [25] He himself contributed articles on the Russian oil industry developments to outlets such as The Observer and The Wall Street Journal.[26][27]

Temerko is a member of, and major donor to, the British Conservative Party where he is a member of the Leader's Group. He also actively supports local Party associations in the North-East England where his company is based and Cities of London & Westminster association where his office and residence are located.[28][6] He has commented on the impact that developments in politics and business would have on the North-East, in particular regarding the North Sea.[29]

Alexander Temerko is a member of Carlton Club, a private member's club in London, where he donated a £90,000 bust of David Cameron.[30]

Temerko regularly criticizes President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his policies in the media, including over the conflict in Ukraine.[31]

During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Temerko publicly supported the campaign for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom. He has publicly voiced his support for Britain to remain in the European Union.[32] After the Referendum, Temerko advocated for a soft Brexit or even a general election, rather than a "no-deal" Brexit.[33] Le Monde quoted Temerko as stating that the most sensible solution for London would be to stop the Brexit process and support the French through reforming the European Union.[34] In August 2019, Temerko suggested that an extension of Article 50 or a second referendum were the only option to avoid the "unfolding travesty" of a no-deal exit on the 31st of October.[35]

During the 2019 Conservative leadership campaign, Alexander Temerko supported Jeremy Hunt. The Daily Telegraph quoted Temerko as saying that the other leading candidate, and now leader of the Conservative Party, Boris Johnson, remained a "friend", but he was being "held hostage" by the European Research Group of Brexiteer MPs.[36] Temerko was also quoted by the Huffington Post as saying that the choice between Hunt and Johnson was one of "populism" against "professionalism".[37]

He has also commented on the United Kingdom energy policies and advocated for greater support for British manufacturers.[38][39][40] Temerko has particularly emphasised the role of interconnectors in the energy market in spite of Brexit proceedings, due to the increased volatility caused by increased reliance on renewable sources. Aquind, where Temerko is a director, is developing one such Anglo-French interconnector.[17]

In July 2019, Temerko was quoted by Reuters, based on a series of interviews with him conducted in the course of three years, as applauding Brexit, endorsing Boris Johnson’s bid to lead Britain out of the EU, lauding senior Russian security officials (including the current and former heads of the Federal Security Service such as Nikolai Patrushev), and proudly recalling his past work with Russia’s Defence Ministry during the Yeltsin era.[6]

Awards

Temerko has received Witte's gold medal "For Thoughts and Deeds", established by the Congress of Russian Business People.[41] He received the medal of "For Merit to the Fatherland" of II degree and the Defender of Free Russia in 1993,[42] and was also formally recognised and thanked by the president of the Russian Federation for his contribution towards ensuring the holding of the 100th conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1998.[43]

gollark: Besides, realistically, you only get one shot at killing someone *at most*, and do you really want to use it (try to) on *me*?
gollark: No, I mean that that makes it quite hard for you to go around murdering me, as well as the other reasons.
gollark: See, society is mostly set up to *prevent* arbitrary murdering.
gollark: This is unlikely.
gollark: This is irrelevant, however, as I am an immortal (probably) probabilistic anomaly.

References
  1. "AQUIND Interconnector". aquind.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  2. "Board of Directors: OGN Group". Archived from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  3. Темерко Александр Викторович. Kommersant, 16 March 2005.
  4. £43 million given to Conservatives by members of exclusive Cameron dining club. The Telegraph, 23 January 2014.
  5. The Guardian, November 17, 2019tory donor calls for russia report to be published
  6. Belton, Catherine (19 July 2019). "In British PM race, a former Russian tycoon quietly wields influence". Reuters. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. "Advisory Council". Institute of Economic Affairs. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  8. Harding, Luke (2019-11-17). "Tory donor Alexander Temerko calls for Russia report to be published". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  9. "AQUIND LIMITED-People". Companies House. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  10. "Темерко Александр Викторович". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 2005-03-16. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  11. Bio details on own web site(in English)
  12. "ЮКОС разорвал отношения с государством по собственному желанию Александра Темерко". Kommersant. 2005-03-16.
  13. "YUKOS Broke Relations With the State - Kommersant Moscow". Archived from the original on 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  14. Tighe, Chris (2015-02-05). "Ukraine donor mixes business with politics in northeast England". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  15. McCusker, Peter (2016-11-09). "Newcastle offshore boss says 'the Government is betraying British industry'". nechronicle. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  16. "Oil rig built in Newcastle sets sail for North Sea". Financial Times. 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  17. Ward, Andrew (2018-01-15). "Our friends electric: interconnection and Brexit". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  18. "Aquind confident on $1.4 billion France-UK power link despite Brexit". Reuters. 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  19. "Aquind calls for 2 GW UK-France power link bids | S&P Global Platts". www.spglobal.com. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  20. Judge refuses to extradite Russian former oil chief. FT, 23 December 2005.
  21. Обвинение на случай оправдания / Александра Темерко обвинили заочно. Kommersant, 14 May 2005.
  22. No extradition for Yukos official. BBC, 23 December 2005.
  23. Catherine Belton. Yukos chiefs lied to us, claims PwC. FT, 26 June 2007.
  24. Catherine Belton. The man who wants to buy back Russia. FT, 19 December 2007.
  25. Catherine Belton. Mind your own business, Russia tells west. FT, 28 December 2010.
  26. How Russia and its allies will be able to turn up | Business | The Observer The Observer, 8 April 2007.
  27. Alexander Temerko. Rosneft Buyer Beware. 25 May 2006.
  28. Pearson, Adrian (26 January 2014). "Tory donors flooding the North with cash to kick-start election battle". The Chronicle. Trinity Mirror North East. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  29. Macalister, Terry (2014-08-31). "Leading oil industrialist accuses BP of spurning its lead role in the North Sea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  30. Harding, Luke; Booth, Robert (2014-07-01). "Tory ball where ministers and City's richest mingled but bubbly was banned". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  31. Temerko, Alexander (2015-03-11). "Britain should arm Ukraine, says Tory donor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  32. Temerko, Alexander (2016-07-04). "Under Theresa May, the Tories can put national unity first and save the EU from disaster". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  33. Elliott, Francis (2018-10-20). "Election better than no deal Brexit, top donor Alexander Temerko tells No 10". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  34. "Alexander Temerko : « La solution la plus sensée pour Londres serait d'arrêter le processus du Brexit »". Le Monde. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  35. Temerko, Alexander (2019-08-14). "Brexit in a blaze of no-deal glory would leave the climate, consumers and the Tories worse off". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  36. Bennett, Asa (2019-06-14). "Boris Johnson shunned by top Tory donor over his no-deal vow and backs Jeremy Hunt for PM". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  37. Temerko, Alexander (2019-07-03). "Johnson And Hunt: A Choice Between Populism And Professionalism". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  38. Amber Rudd Must Stand Up for British Industry and Consumers - Huffington Post
  39. Haste Ye Back: What a Yes Vote Would Mean for Investment in the North Sea - Huffington Post
  40. Business interview: Alexander Temerko of OGN - The Journal
  41. "Темерко Александр Викторович". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 2005-03-16. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  42. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 18.03.1993 г. № 365". Президент России (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  43. "Распоряжение Президента РФ от 28.12.1998 N 472-рп". rulaws.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.